What could Delta possibly gain from such a stupid move? It might enhance revenue, but it would drive many Skymiles members away, and end up hurting themselves in the long run. Only the business travelers who get their travel paid for, which certainly does not represent the vast majority of Skymiles Medallion members, would have a legitimate chance at Gold or Platinum. A large number of loyal Skymiles members are folks who travel on discounted fares, maybe 3-4 times a month, and expect the perks of Skymiles in exchange for their brand loyalty and continued business. A change like this is almost as ridiculous as USAir's quickly withdrawn "only high fares get elite credit" fiasco. If this type of business change is integrated into most other airlines' programs, it would be the end of elite status for many of us, and thus I would forecast a large migration of business away from the majors (or what remains of them) and towards smaller specialty carriers like JetBlue.

What could these new levels possibly be? $10,000 per year for silver? $50,000 for Platinum?? How many Delta customers actually book that kind of revenue each year?

I think this post should also go into the Delta area to get more reaction from people "in the know". This type of info needs to be confirmed before inflaming the emotions of too many people.

[This message has been edited by bocastephen (edited 12-10-2002).]